DIY VIRAL
The author Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Battlestar Galactica is one of the greatest sci-fi shows of all time, with amazing performances and memorable moments, and decades after its cancellation, it's still attracting new fans. Given the lack of planning and flying by the seat of their pants the writer's room did on the series, it's a wonder it became an all-time classic. One example is the “boxing” of the Cylons to prevent their resurrection, which was only created as a concept because Lucy Lawless left the show and creator Ronald D. Moore had to explain why all the 3rd Cylons were now gone.
Box number 3
Cylon boxing is quite literal, the newly downloaded consciousness is transferred from the waiting Cylon body to a small metal box attached to the resurrection tank. The digital consciousness is trapped in a box and designed for individual models that can be a threat to their society, usually by becoming too sympathetic to humans. In Battlestar Galactica Season 3 Episode 12, “Rapture,” John Cavill/Number One (Dean Stockwell) destroys the entire Model 3 line thanks to her fanatical quest to uncover the secret of the Final Five, who come close to unraveling their plans, a dramatic departure from Lucy. Lawlessness later became a major plot point.
Number 3, introduced as D'Anne Biers, an investigative reporter in Season 2's “Final Cut,” was the only Cylon who was passionate about religion. Battlestar Galactica always had religious undertones, but given Number Three's quest for the mythical Final Five, Lucy Lawless was able to dig into the role and her performance helped The evolution of number 3 is plausible. Right before John Cavill boxed, he had a look in his eyes that he was accepting his fate as a true believer, sure that he would see the Five someday.
During its operation, Battlestar Galactica there weren't many cast changes during its run, with the departure of Lucy Lawless still the highlight. The human characters could be killed, well five of them couldn't, but the rest were fair game, so a creative solution was needed for the Cylon departure. Boxing is first mentioned in Season 2's “Downloaded”, with number 3 threatening number six (Tricia Helfer) and Number Eight (Grace Park), but backstage the writing was already on the wall for Lawless to walk away, which on re-watches adds a touch of irony to the scene.
Battlestar Galactica never had a plan
Battlestar Galactica's lack of planning from day one is not unusual, Babylon 5The exception is , which famously was completely written from start to finish before it began filming science fiction shows, not a rule, so there were no pitfalls for Lucy Lawless #3. It's also why the reveal of the Five created enough plot holes to thrill generations YouTube explanatory videos. The Rebirth series, which provides insight into the workings of Cylon society, helped humanize the cybernetic lifeforms, but as fans later learned, the plan never came to be.
Both Battlestar Galactica and Lucy Lawless remain beloved by thousands, if not millions, of sci-fi fans around the world, lack of planning or not. The rough-around-the-edges of the writing and plot work well with the series' dark tone, making it seem like terrible things are happening at times, a reflection of what life would actually be like trapped on spaceships trying to outrun a relentless enemy. The Cylon boxing concept ended up being the best and provided a brilliant contrast to their digital immortality, as nothing is more terrifying to a race that has conquered death than the existential dread of eternal nothingness.
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DIY VIRAL
